If you know how to cook a medium rare steak—you already know how to polish recycled plastics.
Use our flame finishing method if you don't have hours to wetsand and polish Critical. Cleanstone on your next project.
Searing steak and flame polishing Cleanstone basically the same.
You want the outside seared and crisp.
But you don’t want to cook it all the way through.
Darker Cleanstone colours (like Moana, Forest, Goldfinch) are made from soft plastic bags. When you sand them using a low grit on an off the shelf orbital sander, they will turn furry and matte white. Not great if you want a sleek finish.
Light colours (like Marble, Clear, Kohu) actually look great after a quick pass with a sanding disk. But with dark panels, you need to sear it like steak!
This Flame finishing lets you polish Cleanstone without endless sanding. Rough sand to 320–400 grit, then sear it quickly with a hot blue flame.
The result is a clean, shiny surface with a subtle texture. Strong. Durable. Circular. We have found that this slightly hardens the surface.
But here's what what you don't want to do:
You don't want to “overcook” it just like steak. If your flame is not hot enough and your put it on one spot for too long and you start cooking it through, the panel can warp, distort, or bubble.
If it does happen - not the end of the world, reheat the opposite side and it usually relaxes.
If you're joiner and builder this methid will help you saving time, reducing waste, and giving recycled plastic a second life in high-end design projects.
And for designers and brand owners, this is another benefit of using Cleanstone made from 100% recycled plastics - you don't need to coat it like wood, just in a few years time find the surface coating peeling off with use.
If you're working on a fit out and need some pro tips and support on detailling, visit criticaldesign.nz or send me a DM. I'd love to help.
Ngā mihi nui to our mates at Spacebar Design for another beautiful install and sharing their tips and tricks.